CARBON TAXES - MARLO LEWIS

House Speaker John Boehner, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy have signed a No Climate Tax Pledge. Bad news for those pushing carbon taxes as part of a budget deal.

Friends of affordable energy can ill-afford complacency, however. The Dumb Party has been known to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, and carbon tax advocates are nothing if not tenacious. So when it comes to carbon taxes, I say kick ‘em while they’re down.> View the full commentary at Globalwarming.org

Several lawmakers have called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to “do something” to protect the public from the alleged threat of energy drinks after the agency received a small number “adverse event reports” related to the products. Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) has called for an outright ban. Such overheated reactions are out of line with reality. Basing policy on a knee-jerk reaction to a handful of incidents that may or may not be related to energy drinks could rob consumers of their right to make their own choices about their health and diet. >View the commentary on TheHill.com

Former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan abandoned efforts this week to gather signatures for a ballot initiative to reform the city’s public pension plan. Riordan said he didn’t think he could acquire 300,000 signatures by the Dec. 28 deadline to get his measure, which would rquire city workers to contribute more toward their pensions and convert all employees to 401K-type plans, on the May ballot.

It will come as no shock that Service Employees International Union Local 721, which represents public service workers in Southern California, and the Los Angeles Police Protective League led the opposition to Riordan’s initiative.> Read the full commentary on Openmarket.org